Copycat Burrito Bowls

I don't make copycat meals all that often.  But every so often, I get the craving for a meal from a restaurant.  Last week, I made super-cheater "fried rice" by mixing cooked rice with cooked mix veggies (out of the freezer!) and a scrambled egg, plus a little soy sauce and sriracha. That was all inspired by a food cart near school.

So last week, when NES and I were trying to figure out a new meal to make for dinner, I thought about making burrito bowls.  NES loves Chipotle's burritos, but we don't have a Chipotle anywhere near by.  Well, at least not close enough to decide to go just for dinner.  I was just thinking generic burrito bowls, but he suggested Chipotle copycat.  I love their rice, so I was game!

NES found a copycat rice recipe to try, so that was his part of the evening's cooking.  I made the chicken.  We had a couple of taco kits around Christmas time, and since I don't like ground meat (I know, I know; but it's a texture thing), I made pulled chicken for the tacos instead.  I just added the dry taco mix to the chicken when I sauteed it in a frying pan.  Really simple.  But for the burrito bowls, NES suggested cubed chicken.  So I did the same thing, I just didn't pull it at the end.  I like how it comes out.  And it's easy to boot!

Then, we combined everything with burrito toppings: sour cream, cheese, guacamole, and chopped tomato.  Those are our favorites, but there are so many options.

The second time we made them, we actually added sriracha sauce, too.  It was the only vaguely spicy anything we had in the fridge, so we tried it.  Even though it comes from a different type of food palate, we both thought it was a good addition!

So customizable, and so easy!  Huzzah!


Burrito Bowls
Rice adapted from Food.com

1 cup basmati rice
1 tbsp. butter
1 lime
3/4 tsp. salt
water

olive oil
1 lb. chicken breasts or tenders, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 package taco seasoning

burrito toppings:
cheese
sour cream
guacamole
chopped tomato
sriracha (I know, wrong food palate, but it totally works!)
et cetera!


 Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.  Add the rice, salt and lime juice, and stir.

Add water as directed to the rice.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and allow to simmer 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile. heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Add the chopped chicken and about 1/4 of the dry taco seasoning.  Stir to coat the chicken.

Stir as the chicken cooks, adding the dry taco seasoning slowly until it is gone.  Continue to cook until the chicken is cooked through.

Layer rice, chicken, cheese, sour cream, and any other toppings you desire in a bowl.  Enjoy!